Blacks and Latinos Prefer and Are More Satisfied with Physicians of the Same Race
Mar 30, 2005 - 6:22:00 AM
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Blacks who prefer a black physician and have a black physician are nearly three times as likely to rate their physician as excellent than are blacks who prefer a black physician and have a non-black physician (57 percent vs. 20 percent).
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By American Academy of Family Physicians,
[RxPG] Latino and black patients who perceive racism in the health care system prefer and are more satisfied with physicians from the same race or ethnicity, according to a new study.
Analyzing a national survey of more than 3,800 blacks, Latinos and whites, Chen and colleagues find that nearly one quarter of blacks and one third of Latinos prefer that their personal physician is of their same race or ethnicity.
In turn, those patients who have racial preferences for their physicians are more likely to rate their physician highly if they are in a race-concordant relationship. Blacks who prefer a black physician and have a black physician are nearly three times as likely to rate their physician as excellent than are blacks who prefer a black physician and have a non-black physician (57 percent vs. 20 percent). Though not statistically significant, Latinos who prefer and have a Latino physician rate their physician higher than Latinos who prefer a Latino physician but have a non-Latino physician (40 percent vs. 29 percent).
The authors suggest that these findings may point to ways to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Addressing discrimination in the health care system, increasing access to minority physicians and improving the ways patients can choose physicians may be more potent options for reducing disparities than simply increasing the number of minority physicians and attempting to teach cultural competence.
Publication:
Patients' Beliefs about Racism, Preferences for Physician Race, and Satisfaction with Care; By Frederick M. Chen, M.D., M.P.H., et al
On the web:
www.annfammed.org 
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Additional information about the news article
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Annals of Family Medicine is a peer-reviewed research journal that provides a cross-disciplinary forum for new, evidence-based information affecting the primary care discipline. Launched in May 2003, the journal is sponsored by six family medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Board of Family Practice, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, the Association of Departments of Family Medicine, the Association of Family Practice Residency Directors and the North American Primary Care Research Group. Annals is published six times each year and contains original research from the clinical, biomedical, social and health services areas, as well as contributions on methodology and theory, selected reviews, essays and editorials. A board of directors with representatives from each of the sponsoring organizations oversees Annals. Complete editorial content and interactive discussion groups for each published article can be accessed free of charge on the journal's Web site, www.annfammed.org.
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